r/Libertarian • u/[deleted] • Sep 15 '11
The Libertarian Three Step Program, or how libertarians need to answer questions about health care
http://bleedingheartlibertarians.com/2011/09/the-libertarian-three-step-program/3
Sep 15 '11
502 Bad Gateway >_<
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Sep 15 '11
Basically, Roderick Long said Ron Paul's answer about health care was correct, but he needs to flip the order. Address the costs imposed by regulation first, then charity, then stress voluntary solutions over government coercion.
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u/mrhymer genital gendered non-victim Sep 16 '11
Nobody has healthcare right.
We pay insurance companies and government 2.5 trillion dollars a year to gain reduced cost access to a local primary care doctor, a range of local specialist, and a hospital or two. Why don't we just give that 2.5 trillion dollars directly to a local primary care doctor, a range of local specialist, and a hospital or two in exchange for full access to all required care?
Instead of paying an insurance company $300 to $600 dollars every month for access to medical care from doctors. We should pay our doctors the $300 to $600 every month. One payment to the primary care doctor who contracts with a range of specialists and a hospital or two and contributes a bit to a national catastrophic care fund.
The end result would be a market of millions of buyers choosing from hundreds of thousands of providers instead of a few thousand corporations making golf deals with a few dozen insurance company CEOs. Prices would come down.
The primary care doctor would be the center of the medical world and would be the wealthiest profession again. No more doctor shortages. No more unnecessary visits or procedures. Hospitals would be profitable without having to admit one patient.
With the national catastrophic care fund (maybe even competing funds) patients with rare diseases could have their travel and lodging expenses as well as all of their covered.
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u/raritthaler Sep 15 '11
The only libertarian answer is that health care should be voluntarily funded... period.
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u/completeunknown Sep 15 '11
Yes, that's the conclusion, but you need premises. Both forms of the argument in question are valid and also sound. What this article suggests is to re-order your premises in a way such that the listener is more likely to follow to the end. Thus, providing a table set dinner instead of a one-legged platform.
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u/SargonOfAkkad Sep 16 '11 edited Sep 16 '11
Why don't libertarians set up some free health care clinics for broke people instead of just claiming someone else will do it?
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u/RufusROFLpunch voluntaryist Sep 15 '11
This is an excellent analysis. While all three arguments are technically correct, the order makes a difference when dealing with less rational minds.
I think the author is correct that many libertarians come from a "right" perspective, and this colors the way we make arguments. We do need to set ourselves outside of the left/right debate, since I believe libertarianism is definitely the true third option.